1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to fishing line guide mechanisms for spinning reels. More particularly it relates to a spinning-reel fishing line guide mechanism, for guiding fishing line onto the reel spool, mounted on one of a pair of the bail support members pivotally supported endwise on the pair of rotor arms.
2. Description of Related Art
In a spinning reel, a rotor is configured to rotate about a spool. A fishing line guide mechanism for guiding a fishing line on to the spool is mounted at an end of one of a pair of bail support members. The bail support members and the fishing line guide mechanism are rotatable together with the rotor about the spool. The bail support members and the line guide mechanism are pivotal between a line-release position and a line-winding position. The fishing line guide mechanism is provided with a stationary shaft fixed at proximal end to one of the bail support members, a stationary shaft cover which is fixed to a distal end of the stationary shaft and on which one end of the bail is mounted, and a line roller rotatably supported on the stationary shaft between the stationary shaft cover and the bail support member. In the fishing line guide mechanism, the bail is swung to the line release position when the fishing line is to be released, and the fishing line is released from the forward end of the spool. Also, in winding the fishing line onto the spool, when the bail is swung into the fishing line winding position and the handle is rotated, the fishing line is guided and brought into contact with the outer circumferential surface of the line roller by the bail, and, changing the direction of the fishing line, is guided by the line roller and wound around the outer circumference of the spool.
In the spinning reel, the fishing line is released when the bail support members and the line guide mechanism are pivoted to the line release position. The fishing line is wound around the spool and an axis defined therein, the axis extending in a direction corresponding to the direction the fishing line travels when released from the spool. When the fishing line is released or cast out from the forward end of the spool, the fishing line spirals as it comes off the spool, generating twists in the fishing line. As the fishing line is wound back around the spool, it is drawn in along a path parallel to the axis of the spool and wound onto the circumferential periphery of the spool guided by the bail and the line roller. As a result, twists in the line occur, the twists being directionally reversed from the way the fishing line turns when released. For example, in a spinning reel in which the fishing line is to be wound clockwise as viewed from the forward end, when the fishing line is wound around the spool, counterclockwise twists in the line are generated upstream with respect to the winding direction. In general, in the spinning reel, in order to prevent twists in the fishing line fed off the spool, the fishing line is wound onto the spool in a twisted condition. In this case, if the same line twists were generated in opposite directions when feeding out line when winding on line, there would be no extra twist left in the fishing line wound around the spool.
However, in some cases while the line roller is guiding the fishing line, extra line twists are generated in the fishing line due to contact between the line roller and the fishing line. More specifically, when reeling in line under drag tension for example, the magnitude and/or direction of force applied to the fishing line changes due to contact resistance against the line roller. Consequently unanticipated torsion or bending force is applied to the fishing line, resulting in the generation of extra line twists, as mentioned above. As a result, the conventional fishing reel suffers from the problem that line twists are left in the fishing line wound around the spool, which makes it difficult to feed out the line smoothly, and even can make casting the fishing rig in a desired direction impossible.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 08-23834 and 08-23836 disclose technical approaches to overcome the above-described line twisting problem. The spinning reels disclosed in the two above publications are provided with a fishing line guide mechanism in which a line roller is formed into a tapered shape gradually increasing its diameter in the line winding rotational direction of the rotor (on the front end side of the line roller) and a line guide portion is formed on the bail support member side of the line roller or on the bail support member. In this fishing line guide mechanism, the line roller is disposed so that the fishing line is at a bias toward the bail support member and the fishing line is guided to the spool while the fishing line is in contact with the line guide portion to thereby restrict the movement thereof in the axial direction. With such an arrangement, the movement of the fishing line in the axial direction is suppressed by the line roller and the line engagement between the line roller and the bail support member is prevented. Also, the line roller is formed into the tapered shape having its diameter gradually increased in the line winding rotational direction so that a frictional force difference is generated between the fishing line and the large diameter side and the small diameter side of the line roller and a reversed line twist from that of the line feeding mode is generated in the fishing line.
In the above-described conventional fishing line guide mechanism, since the fishing line is biased toward the bail support member and the fishing line is brought into contact with the line guide portion for guidance, the movement of the fishing line is suppressed and the fishing line engagement is moderated. However, when the fishing line is brought into contact with the line guide portion located on the bail support member side, the line twist in the same direction as that in the line feeding direction is generated, so that it is impossible to accurately generate the line twist that is reversed to that in the line feeding mode.
Also, since the line twist that is reversed to that in the line feeding mode is generated by utilizing the fact that the frictional force on the large diameter side is greater than that on the small diameter side in the circumferential surface of the line roller formed in the form of a tapered shape having the diameter gradually increased in the line winding rotational direction of the rotor (on the front end side of the line roller), it is difficult to accurately generate the line twist.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,344 to Kaneko et al. also addresses line-twisting problems in a spinning reel. The gist in every one of the forty-nine embodiments disclosed in this patent is to maintain fishing line being reeled onto the spinning reel spool in contact with a line guide associated with the line guide roller. In particular, the Kaneko et al. configuration is for keeping the fishing line in contact with the guide despite change in line position on the guide roller as the diameter of wound-on line increases.
In every one of the Kaneko et al. embodiments the fishing line is urged toward the bail arm in order to urge the line against the line guide in its many configurations. Accordingly, the rollers of the embodiments are all tapered toward the bail arm in its many corresponding configurations. This is true also of the roller proximate the bail arm in the dual-roller embodiments. One of the embodiments in the Kaneko et al. patent sets the line roller rotational axis obliquely with respect to the rotor axis, wherein the axial end of the line roller is bent generally backward toward the reel main body.
An object of the present invention is accurately to impart in fishing line passing over a line roller, when winding the line onto a spinning reel spool under drag tension, line twist that is the reverse of twist occurring in the line when feeding it out.
One aspect of the present invention is a fishing line guide mechanism for a spinning reel having a spool line-winding rotor from which a pair of diametrically opposed rotor arms extend axially. The line guide mechanism, for guiding a fishing line onto the spool, is mounted on either one of a pair of bail supports pivotably mounted endwise on the respective rotor arms for pivoting between line-winding and line-releasing positions. The line guide mechanism includes: a stationary shaft fixed endwise to the one bail support at a bias toward the line-releasing position of the bail supports with respect to the rotor rotational axis; a stationary shaft cover retained endwise on the stationary shaft opposite its fixed end at a spaced-apart interval from the one bail support; a line roller rotatably supported on the stationary shaft in the spaced-apart interval between the one bail support and the stationary shaft cover, the line roller having a reverse-twist generating configuration including a maximum-diameter flange (which in some configurations resembles a brim) adjacent the stationary shaft cover. The stationary shaft bias is defined as an acute angle between a line parallel to the line-roller rotational axis and the fishing line when substantially parallel to the rotor axis, in a plane containing the line both parallel to the line-roller rotational axis and intersecting that point where the fishing line when substantially parallel to the rotor axis last contacts the line roller. The stationary shaft bias and the reverse-twist generating configuration of the line roller constitute a reverse-twist generating means for imparting reverse-twist to fishing line being wound under tension onto the spool by bringing the fishing line against the maximum diameter flange.
In the fishing line guide mechanism, the fishing line is wound around the outer circumference of the spool while being guided onto the line roller by the rotation of the rotor and in doing so, the direction of movement of the fishing line changes. In this case, since the fishing line is displaced toward the line guide surface by the stationary shaft orientation, as the fishing line is wound around the spool, as the fishing line begins engagement with the line roller the fishing line engages one point on the line roller, but as the fishing line disengages the line roller on its way toward the spool, the fishing line leaves the line roller at a different axial position along the line roller. Consequently, the fishing line is brought into contact with the line guide surface of the line roller as it is guided by the line roller. The engagement with the line guide surface imparts a twist to the fishing line that is in the opposite direction of a twist imparted to the fishing line when the fishing line is released from the spool. Also, when the fishing line is brought into contact with the line guide surface, it is possible to accurately generate the line twist in a stable manner while always displacing the fishing line on the side of the first bail support member on the circumferential surface of the line roller.
The spool-ward portion of the line on the line roller is dragged along the radially extending surface of the flange portion when reeling in under tension, which imparts reverse twist.
In another aspect the pair of bail supports pertaining to the fishing line guide mechanism is pivotably mounted on the rotor arms, defining a bail pivotal axis through their pivotal centers. Therein the stationary shaft further is disposed at an acute angle with respect to a line tangential to a rotor-concentric circle and perpendicular to a plane containing the bail pivotal axis, urging the fishing line against the maximum diameter flange.
In another aspect of the invention, the reverse-twist generating configuration of the line roller further includes a bevel formed on the line roller flaring against and ending in a smaller diameter than the maximum diameter flange. The reverse-twist generating configuration brings the fishing line toward the maximum diameter flange when the reverse-twist generating means imparts reverse twist to fishing line being wound under tension onto the spool.
According to the above aspect of the invention, the fishing line is guided from the line roller as it is wound around the outer circumference of the spool. Since the line roller has an annular surface having a small diameter, the fishing line is drawn to the annular surface either before or after contacting the line guide surface. It is possible to generate the line twist in a stable manner while always displacing the fishing line on the side of the first bail support member on the circumferential surface of the line roller. In addition, since the line guide surface has a flange shape so that a diameter on the side of the stationary shaft cover is increased, as the fishing line is brought into contact with the line guide surface, the line twist in the same direction is generated. For this reason, it is possible to always make the direction of the generated line twist in the direction opposite to the direction when the fishing line is released.
The fishing line may be brought into contact with the line guide surface prior to contacting the annular surface as the fishing line is wound from a guide in a fishing rod around the spool in response to rotation of the rotor.
Alternatively, the fishing line contacts the line guide surface after coming into contact with the annular surface as the fishing line extends around the spool from the bottom line guide on the fishing rod in response to rotation of the rotor.
The bevel may be in axial dimension 1 to 40% the line roller in axial dimension. Further, the bevel may be in the range of 0.5 to 10 degrees.
The acute angle defining the stationary shaft bias may be less than 20xc2x0.
Another aspect of the present invention is a fishing line guide mechanism for a spinning reel having a spool line-winding rotor from which a pair of diametrically opposed rotor arms extend axially, the line guide mechanism being mounted on either one of a pair of bail supports pivotably mounted endwise on the respective rotor arms for pivoting between line-winding and line-releasing positions. The line guide mechanism herein includes: a stationary shaft fixed endwise to the one bail support at a bias toward the line-releasing position of the bail supports with respect to the rotor rotational axis; a stationary shaft cover retained endwise on the stationary shaft opposite its fixed end at a spaced-apart interval from the one bail support; a line roller rotatably supported on the stationary shaft in the spaced-apart interval between the one bail support and the stationary shaft cover. The line roller has a reverse-twist generating configuration including a first positioning surface adjacent the stationary shaft cover for initial contact with fishing line being wound under tension onto the spool, and a second positioning surface formed to displace slightly toward the one bail support fishing line extending from the line roller and being wound under tension onto the spool. Herein also, the stationary shaft bias is defined as an acute angle between a line parallel to the line-roller rotational axis and the fishing line when substantially parallel to the rotor axis, in a plane containing the line both parallel to the line-roller rotational axis and intersecting that point where the fishing line when substantially parallel to the rotor axis last contacts the line roller. Again, the stationary shaft bias and the reverse-twist generating configuration of the line roller constitute a reverse-twist generating means for imparting reverse twist to fishing line being wound under tension onto the spool by urging the fishing line toward the first positioning surface.
The spool-ward portion of the line on the line roller is displaced slightly toward the bail support by the bevel, thus to be dragged along the bevel as well as the radially extending surface of the flange portion when reeling in under tension, which imparts reverse twist.
In the fishing line guide mechanism, the fishing line is wound around the outer circumference of the spool while being guided from the line roller by the rotation of the rotor upon the winding operation of the fishing line. As it wraps around the line roller, the fishing line undergoes a change in direction. In this case, since the fishing line is displaced toward the line guide portion by the stationary shaft bias and the inclined surface, the fishing line is introduced onto the circumferential surface of the line roller while being urged to an end portion on the large diameter side of the slant surface of the line roller and is released away toward the spool while being disposed obliquely at the end portion on the small diameter side and positioned at the end on the small diameter side of the slant surface. Thus, the position where the fishing line is directed toward the spool is displaced from the stationary shaft cover side toward the bail support member side on the circumferential surface of the line roller so that a twist is imparted to the fishing line that is opposite the direction of twist imparted to the fishing line when it is being is released from the spool.
In the above fishing line guide mechanism, as the fishing line approaches the line roller it is biased into contact with the line roller at a first position. When the fishing line is released away from the line roller toward the spool, the fishing line is positioned at a different position on the line roller. Thus, the position where the fishing line is released toward the spool is displaced with respect to the stationary shaft cover side. The change in position of the fishing line as it engages the line roller compared to the position of the fishing line as it leaves the line roller makes it possible to predetermine the direction of a generated line twist in the fishing line as it is wound around the spool. It is therefore possible to generate the line twist in a reverse direction with high precision.
The first positioning surface may be a line-ward face of a maximum-diameter flange formed adjacent the stationary shaft cover.
The second positioning surface may configure an inflection point on the line roller as its smallest-diameter circumference.
The pair of bail supports pivotably mounted on the rotor arms therein defines a bail pivotal axis through their pivotal centers, and the stationary shaft further may be disposed at an acute angle with respect to a line tangential to a rotor-concentric circle and perpendicular to a plane containing the bail pivotal axis, urging the fishing line against the maximum diameter flange.
The line-ward face of the maximum-diameter flange may be slightly inclined toward the stationary shaft cover with respect to a plane perpendicular to the line-roller rotational axis, may be perpendicular to the stationary shaft, and, at its radially outermost point of fishing-line contact may be chamfered. Also, the inclination of the line-ward face of the maximum-diameter flange may run 1 to 15% of the line roller axially.
Further, the radial height between the inflection point and the line-ward face at its radially outermost point of fishing-line contact may be 1 to 15% the diameter of the maximum-diameter flange. And the line-ward face may be chamfered to round the radially outermost point of fishing-line contact at a radius of 0.1 to 0.5 mm. In addition, the first and second positioning surfaces may meet in a corner angular in cross-section.
In the present invention, the first-position surface and the maximum-diameter flange are located adjacent the stationary shaft cover, on the end of the stationary shaft opposite the bail-arm end. Accordingly, in the present invention, the fishing line is brought against the maximum-diameter flange (urged toward the first positioning surface), is opposite the bail arm, adjacent the stationary shaft cover. Thus one fundamental difference between the present invention and the devices disclosed in the Kaneko et al. reference is that the line roller configurations are oriented oppositely, and accordingly act oppositely on the fishing line.
Accordingly the present invention is a spinning-reel line roller mechanism configured and disposed for imparting reverse twist in the fishing line when it is being reeled in under drag tension, as when a fish has been caught. When thus reeling in under drag tension, extra line twists are generated in the fishing line. Contact resistance with the line roller when reeling in under drag tension changes the magnitude and direction of force on the fishing line, leading to unanticipated movement or bending force on the line, as noted earlier.
The present invention orients the stationary shaft at a bias (obliquely) with respect to the rotor rotational axis, but toward the line-releasing position of the bail supports, opposite orientation disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,344 to Kaneko et al.